Inside dish: Fermented, funky tea for a sober January?

Could fermented, musky tea be the key to your sober month? It depends on your stomach for a drink with a flavor profile one expert compares to "grandmother's basement."

For me, this year's New Year's resolutions are all about healthy habits, and I know I'm not the only one. What small changes can we make to be happier and healthier and, perhaps, feel at least somewhat in control of our futures?

Enter set-in-stone sobriety days, or even months. Rather than crack open a bottle of wine, we're cracking open books. Rather than pouring cocktails, we're pouring tea.

Andrew Snavely, the owner of Dobra Tea, has some advice on booze-free beverages for temporary teetotalers. The criteria for a good evening sipper: low in caffeine and interesting enough to not feel like a cup of deprivation.

Dobra has plenty of house herbal blends: Vulnerabili-tea, with marshmallow root, hibiscus and chamomile, is said to open the heart. Clear Communication, with its clove, fennel and orange peel, is good for the throat.

"We say it's a body and mind tonic," said Snavely, adding that the caffeine in pu-er offers a more "social, meditative high."

So how's it taste? Snavely describes the funkier Pu-er Shou as "earthy and very 'underground,' almost like a rich soil."

"Some compare it to a grandmother’s basement, in that it's naturally kind of moldy and funky," he continued.

Sounds like my cup of tea.

A cake of Pu-er from Dobra Tea.(Photo: Mackensy Lunsford)

Tea has terroir too, which makes it a good replacement beverage for sober oenophiles who appreciate the nerdery of wine almost as much as drinking it. Tea isn't just about Earl Grey, agreed Dobra general manager Miles Cramer.

"When you want to seek out that interesting ,challenging beverage, tea is the more sustainable way to enjoy throughout your day, and it also stimulates you rather than intoxicates you — although it does have its own euphoric aspects too."

Adding to the complexity of pu-er are that there are different types: Sheng and Shou. The latter brings the most funk, said Cramer. "They actually put the leaves in a warehouse and moisten them and, with the humidity, let it sit for about three months."

The result is a basementy funk with seemingly infinite tasting notes, which can develop in complexity the longer it age. According to Snavely, aging also brings out more medicinal qualities and mellows the caffeine.

So how's it taste? Not as challenging as I expected, though it does have a familiar funk, something like mushrooms or forest floor, perhaps a touch of kombu and book leather.

Pu-er is essentially a living thing, with microbial fermentation deepening the funky flavor of the tea well after you bring it home. It even develops different flavor profiles through multiple infusions.

It's easy to see why this tea has developed such a cultlike following, though for some the price might not seem justified. I bought a 100 gram cake for $18 plus tax, approximately the cost of a decent bottle of wine that would disappear much quicker than this tea.

Unconvinced? Buy a cup of pu-er at Dobra Tea before you take the plunge. More at www.dobrateanc.com, 78 N. Lexington Ave. in downtown Asheville, 707 Haywood Road in West Asheville, or 120 Broadway St. in Black Mountain.